Dark Secrets of Atlantis
by Protector-of-Atlantis
Summary: ***OFFICIALLY ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE*** When some sort of beam coming from the Stargate hits Sgt. Stackhouse, he begins to experience some weird phenomena. When Sheppard and crew investigate, the search leads to a darker part of Atlantean history.
1. Chapter 1

Dark Secrets of Atlantis

Quick Summary: When some sort of beam coming from the Stargate hits Sgt. Stackhouse, he begins to experience some weird phenomena. When Sheppard and crew investigate, the search leads to a darker part of Atlantean history.

Author's Notes: Just to let you people know, I suck at titles and summaries so bare with me and hopefully the story wont suck as bad as my title and summary. I don't exactly know when this takes place in the Atlantis series. Honestly, I just got bored eating lunch while waiting for my Trig class to start. Also I am using the name 'Adam' for Sgt. Stackhouse due to the fact that the only stories on the site use it as his name. In my opinion, the writers and producers of Atlantis should DEFINITELY bring Boyan Vukelic back and develop Stackhouse's character. And for goodness sake GIVE HIM A FIRST NAME! Sorry about my ranting. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1

The control room was always quiet at night. But not a night went by that there was always something creepy about Atlantis. A city that had been abandoned for ten millennia, suddenly once again inhabited carried a feeling of dread in the darkest of nights. Adam Stackhouse felt this way every time he stood watch in the control room. But there was something different about this night. Something more bothered him than just the constant worries of impending Wraith attacks when a team was off world. Even protected by the powerful shield built by the Ancients to protect the city back online, wasn't enough to ease those fears. Maybe it was just him. Maybe it was the silence tied in with the Stargate being inactive, it's symbols casting a faint bluish glow in the dimmed gate room. Adam was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that Dr. Radek Zelenka had come into the control room.

(A/N: I'm not even gonna attempt to do a Czech accent in writing in hopes avoiding offending someone. Plus, I wouldn't even how to do it so visualize Zelenka speaking when reading this part.)

"Sergeant Stackhouse."

Adam jumped when Zelenka brought him back to reality, not even realizing until that moment that Zelenka was standing right beside him. "Dr. Zelenka."

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to startle you."

"It's alright. What are you doing up here this late?" Adam asked after he recomposed himself.

"I left some equipment up here earlier and I came by to retrieve it before McKay got a hold of it. I was just getting ready to head to the mess hall, could I get you something and bring it back to you?"

"Coffee would be nice. Black. It could probably help me stay awake better."

"Ah yes. It is kind of uneventful in here at night, but I am sure you can handle it. Anyway, I will return with your coffee as soon as possible." Radek told him after fully gathering all of the equipment he had left earlier then turned and began to descend the stairs leading down from the control room.

"Thanks doc." Adam told Zelenka when he started to leave. As Zelenka's footsteps faded, the eerie silence once again retook the control room. The silence did not last however. As soon as Adam had readjusted to the quiet, the alarm indicating an off world Stargate activation began blaring in the empty room. Acting on instinct, he rushed over to the gate controls and activated the shield just as the seventh chevron locked, initializing the wormhole. After locking the down the gate, Adam immediately used his radio to reach Elizabeth Weir.

"Dr. Weir, this is Stackhouse."

In the infirmary, Elizabeth, along with John Sheppard and Dr. Carson Beckett, was just about to turn in for the night when Stackhouse signaled on the radio. With concern, Elizabeth hurriedly switched on the earpiece she was wearing. "This is Weir, go ahead."

Back in the control room, a security detail had arrived, just in case. Adam, too, had repositioned himself near the bottom of the stairs opposite the gate. "We have an unscheduled gate activation. No IDC as of yet."

"_Understood sergeant, Sheppard and I are on our way. Are there any types of signals being received?_"

"Negative. It's just…" Adam began when all of a sudden a new noise began to sound in the gate room, like that of energy beginning to charge. With a loud thud and a bright flash of light, an energy wave began pulsing on the center shield, quickly dispersing evenly and spreading to the inner rim of the Stargate.

"_Stackhouse. What's goin' on in there?_" came the voice of Lt. Col. Sheppard.

"I'm not sure, sir. There's some kind of energy beam impacting the shield." At that moment, certain portions of the outer rim of the shield began to fade allowing some of the energy to cascade into the gate room. With the shield breached and energy flying through the gate room, the soldiers began dodging the miniature lightning strikes and the explosions caused by the impacts. Soon another alarm began to blare throughout the gate room. (A/N: this is the alarm used in Hot Zone when the city went into lockdown. It's also the alarm used when the self-destruct was activated in The Siege, Pt 2.) As the alarm continued to blare, John and Elizabeth finally arrived in the control room, along with Rodney McKay and Zelenka.

"What the hell is that?" McKay asked when he joined Elizabeth and John at the balcony overlooking the gate room, each flinching at nearly every blast, especially the ones that hit close to them.

"That's a good question." Elizabeth responded. While still looking at the gate and the ensuing chaos, Elizabeth made her way over to the gate controls, where Zelenka and two other scientists were examining the readings on both the Ancient technology and their own interfaces. "Can we shut it down?"

"Unfortunately no. The entire system has been completely overridden by the energy wave, or whatever it is." Not pleased with what she had been told, Elizabeth quickly returned to balcony with John and Rodney. No sooner had she got there, a blast hit near where they were standing. Reacting before the blast hit, John grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her in front of him, shielding her against the sparks and debris. Suddenly, a bolt of energy hit right below where Adam was crouched down, causing him to fall directly center of the stairs. Before he could regain his footing, the shield failed completely. Unable to move in time, the full focused force of the beam hit Adam square in the chest, knocking him back against the stairs. Everything Adam was seeing went to white. His body felt like it was being pricked by millions of pins and needles. But that rapidly changed. The white faded into darkness; the pain turned to numbness. Every sound in the gate room soon joined his other senses in complete darkness.

"Stackhouse!" John yelled as he turned in time to see his fellow soldier get hit by the blast. Before anyone could react further, the Stargate immediately shut down.

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked after quickly processing what just happened. John didn't wait for a response. After turning and seeing that John wasn't there, she didn't bother waiting either. Nearly falling themselves, both were quickly at Adam's side. Instantly noticing that Adam was unconscious, John unzipped the top part of his jacket to check for a pulse.

"His pulse is weak." He told Elizabeth as he looked up with a concerned look in his eyes. Without wasting another second, John activated his earpiece. "This is Sheppard, I need a medical team in the gate room NOW." Trying to make the younger man a little more comfortable, John placed his hand under Adam's head for more support, however he was more shocked than relieved when he did. Withdrawing his hand, he noticed that his fingers were covered in blood. The force of the impact had caused Adam to his head in a way that he was a bit more injured than first believed. But the amount of damage was unclear at the moment.

While John took off his own jacket to help cushion Adam's head, Elizabeth used her radio to add on to John's urgent plea. "Carson, double time it." No sooner had Elizabeth released the talk button, John became more urgent.

"He's not breathing!" John yelled. Quickly rushing to back to Adam's side, Elizabeth helped John try to reposition him so his airways could become clear. Tilting his head back, John began CPR on Adam to try and help bring him back. On the third try, Carson, along with a small medical team arrived in the gate room.

"What happened?" Carson asked, while unzipping Adam's jacket fully.

"We don't know yet. What about Stackhouse?" John told him, wiping his hand on a towel that one of the other medics had handed him. Moving his stethoscope over different parts of Adam's chest, Carson's expression went from one of concern to worry.

"I can't find a pulse." Grabbing a pair of scissors, Carson began to cut open Adam's shirt. "We need the defibrillator!" Taking hold of the portion that he had already cut, Carson pulled on the ends, ripping open the rest of Adam's shirt. With his shirt fully open, Carson couldn't help but cringe at the sight of a large burn mark on Adam's chest. Rushing to make sure no more time was wasted, Carson immediately had one of his assistants hook Adam up to the ECG monitor. The steady whine of monitor echoed throughout the gate room, which had fallen to an eerie silence. Readying the paddles, the other medics prepped the gurney next to where they were situated. With the lubrication worked onto the metal, Carson placed the paddles on Adam's chest. "Clear!"

As the electricity coursed through Adam's body, his back arced up off of the floor. The monitor beeped momentarily, but again became a steady whine. "Again!" With the defibrillator recharging, one of Carson's assistants placed an oxygen mask over Adam's nose and mouth, using the bulb on its end to help his body circulate the air it needed. When the defibrillator was fully recharged, Carson replaced the paddles on Adam's chest. "Clear!" When his assistant had removed her arm that was holding the mask, Carson pressed the buttons on the paddles to release the charge. Once again Adam's body arced off the floor. This time, the whine of the monitor turned into beeps. Albeit slow and sparsely spaced but his heart was pumping again. Putting his stethoscope back on, Carson checked Adam's heartbeat. "I've got a pulse. It's slow and erratic but it's there."

Both John and Elizabeth breathed a slight sigh of relief at hearing the news. When Carson was done checking the readings he turned to his aides and motioned for them to bring the gurney over. "He's stable for the moment, but lets move him immediately. Give me a hand. Also get some more help in here to take a look at these other people and make sure that they aren't seriously injured." After lifting Adam onto the gurney, one of the aides went over to some of the other soldiers who were in the gate room at the time, using his radio to call for assistance as he did so. Carson placed some gauze underneath Adam's head wound then turned to face John and Elizabeth. "I'll keep you informed on his condition."

"Thanks Carson." Elizabeth acknowledged as Beckett turned to catch up with his help as they wheeled Adam away. Turning to John, both of them headed up the stairs back into the control. Amidst all the chaos, more scientists had gathered in the control, scurrying around the consoles trying to make sense of all the madness. "Okay people, what do we know?"

"Not much given the circumstances." Rodney told her, while barely deviating from his actions. Moving from the power control console to the gate controls. Pressing a few keys, Rodney reactivated the Stargate shield. Not sure of his actions, Elizabeth gave Rodney a confused look. Noticing Rodney gave his version of an explanation. "You know, just in case."

"Well that didn't seem to help before." John said, his voice mixed with frustration, concern, and anger.

"I know, Colonel. But, it's better than nothing. I'll see if I can reroute some power to the shield to try and prevent it from being breached in the future if this ever happens again." McKay snapped back.

"Gentlemen please! For the time being all gate activities will be suspended until we can figure this one out. Now we almost lost Stackhouse, this is not the time to be at each others throats." Elizabeth interjected, trying to keep an unnecessary fight from breaking out.

"Right, sorry." Rodney apologized after realizing how hostile his statement sounded.

"Yeah, me too." John told him.

"We need to contact Teyla. Tell her that we need her here to help with the situation." Elizabeth said after all was said and done. Soon after the apologies, all three of them looked at each other, then looked at the Stargate. It seemed to hold an innocent appearance in light of what had just happened. The shield, now reinforced with extra power, was active in front of the Stargate, giving those being tended to in the gate room by the medics a little bit more of a feeling of security.

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Okay people. I know it's not that big of a chapter but I milked it all I could without it sounding worse than what it already does. I'll try to make the following chapters longer if I can come up with a way for them not to sound horrible and weak. Also, if you haven't really noticed, I've decided to make this occur somewhere around the beginning of season 2 after Sheppard is promoted (If you haven't seen season 2, sorry about that). However, I myself have not seen ANY of season 2, but I've read the episode summaries and a few transcripts here and there so there shouldn't be that many spoilers. Anyway, let me know how I'm doing. All types of reviews are welcome and I'm open to criticisms, both constructive and negative. And one last thing: If it takes a while for me to update, please don't get mad. I'm pretty busy with school and starting a new job, which can be hectic. Plus it's getting close to the end of the semester and exams will be coming up soon so I'll have to study for those.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Since the incident, all gate activities had been suspended. Teyla, once back from her visit to the mainland, had been briefed on what had taken place the night before. McKay, Zelenka, and a few other scientists were still trying to determine what had happened. But none of the readings they were getting were making any sense. In passing, John had noticed that some of the minor damages had been repaired. But some damage was too much just to paint over. Stackhouse lay in the infirmary barely hanging onto life, having to be resuscitated two more times before the night was over. Drowning out the clatter in the control room, John made his way across to Elizabeth's office. There, she herself was going over what little information that had been figured out and relayed to her laptop. Pausing at her door, unsure that his presence had been noticed, he knocked on the glass door.

Looking up at John, Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, put her hands on her face and started massaging the exhaustion out of her muscles. "John. Come in."

Continuing over to her desk, John pulled out one of the chairs in front of her, taking a seat. "You look like hell," he told her as he sat down.

"You don't look any better." She countered, placing her hands on her lap. "How's Stackhouse?"

"Actually I was just on my way down to check on him. I just stopped by to see how you were." John told her while doing his best to recline in the chair he was sitting in.

"Me?" she asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yeah. I know how you feel when someone gets hurt in the line of duty. I'm feeling the same way right now. Stackhouse is a part of both sides. You're in charge of the expedition and I'm in charge of the military personnel."

"Right. Actually, I could use a break. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all. The more the merrier, I say." Getting up, both headed towards the door and started their way down to the infirmary. Along the way they met up with Teyla. Although they were not close, Teyla had worked with Adam at times on a few missions and felt that she should also check in on his progress. In the infirmary, Carson was discussing the condition of another soldier when the trio arrived.

"Just keep your arm in a sling and ice it every now and then and it should be fine." Carson told the young woman as she slid off the bed and positioned the sling that one of the other nurses had just handed her.

"Thank you, Doctor." She told him in passing. "Colonel, Dr. Weir, ma'am." The lieutenant acknowledged as she passed them on her way out.

"Oh good. You're here." Carson said when he noticed that they had arrived.

"Is something wrong, Dr. Beckett?" Teyla asked when she noticed the slight hint of concern in Carson's voice.

"Not really, no. Stackhouse seems to be improving. But it's going to take some time for him to wake up."

"That's good to hear." Elizabeth said, a small feeling of relief in her voice. Glancing to her right, she saw John staring at Adam. Lying there, Adam looked so peaceful. They could only imagine the pain that he was in and what he had went through a few hours before. If it weren't for the oxygen line, the multiple machines that were hooked up to his body, and the bandage around his head, John could have sworn that he was just sleeping off a long, boring night of watch duty.

"Do we know the extent of his injuries?" John asked, pulling his gaze away from Adam.

"He suffered a major concussion along with his chest being burned by whatever it was that hit him. The burn isn't serious and shouldn't leave a scar if properly medicated. I've also got him on a mild sedative to help him relax and speed up the healing process." Carson told him, but moving over to get a printout that was on his desk. "However there is one thing that's bothering me."

"What?" John asked, immediately overtaken with concern.

"Well, this is a printout of Stackhouse's last EEG taken on his last checkup." He told them, handing Elizabeth the paper with John looking over her shoulder. "I hooked him up to another monitor to check for any signs of brain damage. This was done just a while ago." This one, he handed to John. "Every now and then, his brainwave readings change drastically. I don't know if it's just his body trying to process the stress and physical strain or something else. But I do know I've never seen anything like it before." The difference could clearly be seen. The radical changes in the charts were worrisome. All four looked at each other with concern, concerned for Adam and concern for themselves, wondering if whatever had happened would happen again.

(A/N: Just to clarify any confusion with this part, there is a time lapse here. I'm not gonna tell you how big of one… yet. I just wanted to put that in there so you didn't think I screwed up.)

He could hear voices. They weren't clear but he could tell they were voices. He also felt pain. His head was throbbing so hard that it hurt when he even tried to think. Slowly, Adam tried to open his eyes. Big mistake. When the pain didn't fully stop him, the light did. Suddenly he had a momentary flashback to the gate room. The light that he had seen just before he had passed out, quickly flashed in his mind before he clenched his eyes shut to avoid the pain. As his hearing began to clear up he could tell that one of the voices was that of Dr. Beckett; the Scottish accent standing out above everything else. While not fully up to par, Adam could tell that Carson had sent whoever was with him on an errand of some kind. Gather what little strength he had, Adam opened his eyes again, but this time, more slowly than his first try. As the initial pain faded, all he could see were just bright blurs. Keeping his focus, his vision became clearer, albeit fuzzy. But fuzzy was better than his previous visual state. Opening his mouth to try and talk, no sound came out. He instantly regretted that. His throat was so dry that trying to talk caused him to feel like he was being strangled. Swallowing a few times to try and moisten his throat, Adam once again tried to speak. Although he was unsuccessful in getting Carson's attention, he was able to go from nothing at all to an inaudible whisper. No sooner had he tried his second attempt, he heard the voice of Colonel Sheppard come in.

"Hey, doc. Teyla really did a number on me this time, so I'm gonna need some strong pain killers for tonight." Hearing John's complaining, Carson couldn't help but laugh. Adam then heard him walk over to a table, apparently getting some type of pain medications. Carson's footsteps could then be heard walking back towards John. "Thanks, Doc. You know, after all this time, you think I could figure a way to beat Teyla at her own game." Mustering his strength, Adam gave it his all in trying to get Beckett's attention.

"Dr. Beckett." Finally, it came out. Barely a whisper but it was audible. However was it enough to get Beckett's attention? Not really expecting it, Carson and John were kind of surprised when they heard a voice calling for Carson. Realizing that the only person in the room with them was Adam, both were immediately at his side.

"Sergeant? How are you feeling?" Carson asked while checking over his vitals.

"Like I've been hit by two freight trains and dropped off the side of the Grand Canyon." Adam said with what little bit of a voice he had.

"You look the part." John said, trying to get a smile out of him. Adam appreciated John's sense of humor.

"Do you think I could get some water? My throat is killing me."

"I think that could be arranged." John told him, then walking over to the side to let Carson tend to him. Activating his earpiece, he immediately contacted Elizabeth. "Dr. Weir, this is Sheppard."

"_Go ahead, John._"

"I just thought I'd let you know that Stackhouse is awake."

"_That's great. I'll be down there in a few minutes._" Walking back over to Carson and Adam, john joined in on the conversation. Despite his skin being very pale and the bandages, Adam appeared to be doing very well. Trying to sit up, Adam felt like his head was about to explode. Catching him before he fell back too hard, Carson and John pulled on him slightly to help him sit up. "Easy." John told him, positioning a pillow behind his back to help support him. After he had been situated, Carson handed him a cup of water. Placing one hand behind his back, John used his other hand to help steady Adam's as he was drinking. About that time, Elizabeth, along with Teyla, came into the infirmary. Looking towards Elizabeth, he had a slightly amused look on his face. "You must have ran to get here this fast."

Smiling, she gave her answer. "Actually, I did. Plus I used the transporter. And Teyla was already on her way here so I just met up with her." While giving her explanation, both she and Teyla had made their way over by Adam's bed.

"Good enough for me." John said, smiling.

"Sergeant, how are you feeling?" Teyla had asked after John and Elizabeth's amusing situation.

"Tired and sore. A little light headed but I think the pain in my chest is what hurts the most though."

"That's understandable. You had quite the ordeal." Teyla said, voicing her concern and relief as well.

"What exactly happened last night?" Adam asked. Instantly, Adam noticed everyone's expression. "Colonel? What's wrong?"

"It's been a lot longer than you think." John told him.

"Sir?" Adam asked confused.

Stepping up to take over, Carson began. "Son. You've been unconscious for a little over a week. We nearly lost you three times, but you were able to pull through it. A little quicker than I expected, actually."

Leaning back against the bed, Adam let the information he had just been told sink in. "What happened?"

"We're still working on that," Elizabeth began, "We don't know much. There haven't been any references to anything like that happening before the city was abandoned. We still haven't fully reviewed all the information, but when we find something out, I'll let you know personally."

"Thank you ma'am." Adam told her.

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Teyla started saying what needed to be said. "We should let you rest. I hope you are well soon, sergeant."

"Teyla's right. He needs rest." Carson told them, beginning to usher them away. When the other three had left, Carson was the only one who was left. "Sergeant, if you need me, I'll be around. Just call." He told Adam after helping him lie back in the bed.

"Thanks Doctor Beckett. Oh, before you go. Do you think you could do something about the lights?" Adam asked.

"Sure." When Carson left Adam's side, he walked over to a control panel near the door. After hearing the tones of the crystals, the lighting above Adam instantly dimmed. The only light that was left was from the illuminated crystals on the column next to where he was lying. Closing his eyes, Adam tried to let sleep overtake him. Just as he had started to doze off, Adam suddenly heard what he thought was voices. Lots of voices near him. Opening his eyes and leaning up, Adam started searching around the room.

"Hello?" Nobody responded, however, Carson came around the corner.

"Is everything alright, sergeant?" He asked with a look of concern on his face.

"Was there anybody else in here just a second ago?"

"I'm afraid not. Other than you, I'm the only one in here."

"I was sure I heard someone else talking."

"Your body has been under a massive strain. What you heard could have been a trick your mind was playing on you while trying to process everything. Just try ignoring it and get some rest. But if persists, let me know and I can give you something to help you sleep." Carson reassured him. Patting Adam on the shoulder, Carson gave him a smile then walked off. When Carson's footsteps could no longer be heard, Adam once again closed his eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Around mid afternoon the next day, Adam's strength was beginning to return to him. Although not fully back, Adam was able to regain more movement in his muscles, which had become stiff due to lack of activity. The bandage that was around his head covering the fracture at the back of his skull had also been removed. John had joined Adam in the infirmary while he was updating Adam on his physical condition. Eager to leave the infirmary, Adam desperately tried to talk John into convincing Carson into releasing him.

"Sir, please. I really need to get out of here."

"Sergeant, you do realize what happened to you right?" John asked, not really wanting the younger man to over exert himself, but understanding where he was coming from.

"Yes, sir, I do. But these walls are starting to suffocate me. Plus, I've never really been one to be stuck in a hospital room for any length of time." Adam pleaded.

"Stackhouse, have you happened to see a clock or calendar lately? You've been out like a light for a week only been awake for twelve hours. Twelve and a half if you include the thirty minutes you were talking while you were half asleep."

"Yes, sir, but…"

"In other words, you haven't been conscious in here long enough to be losin' it." John told him, still trying to convince him that he would be better off staying in the infirmary. Hearing the commotion, Carson came over to see what was going on.

"Is there a problem gentlemen?"

"It seems you have an impatient patient, doc." John told him, smiling.

"Eager to leave, are we?" Carson asked, looking at Adam with a grin on his face. "Am I that bad of company?"

"No, sir." Adam told him, kind of embarrassed. "I really appreciate what you've done for me but I just really need to get some air."

"Well I don't see any harm in releasing you." Carson began after giving it some thought. "However, I do want you to stop by periodical for follow ups. Colonel, would you be so kind as to get the wheelchair from around the corner?"

"No problem, Doc." As John went to get the wheelchair, Carson walked over to his desk and picked up a small container and a medium sized box. Walking back over to Adam, he placed the container on the bedside table and began to disconnect the monitors that Adam was hooked up to.

"Doc, I really don't think that a wheelchair is necessary." Adam told him. Carson ignored him and just gave him a skeptical look, continuing to disconnect the equipment. After he had fully disconnected Adam from the electronics, Carson then proceeded to get the medical tape and some gauze off of the table next to the bed. Gently pressing the gauze on top of the IV, Carson began to pull needle out of the top of Adam's hand. Adam couldn't help but flinch slightly when the needle was fully out but as soon as it was out completely, Carson placed a strip of tape over the gauze to secure it. Then picking the small container again, he began to explain it.

"This ointment is for the burn on your chest. Apply it as needed, but mainly before you go to bed. These," he said holding up the box, "are to help you sleep." By that time, John had returned with the wheelchair, apparently having stopped to take the time to somebody. With John holding the chair steady, put one hand on Adam's shoulder and the other around his waist to help try and steady him. Luckily he had made the right choice in taking those precautions. As soon as Adam's feet were on the floor and he shifted his weight, he nearly fell face first onto the floor. Using his weight to pull him up, Carson eased Adam around to sit him down in the wheelchair. After making sure he was in properly, Carson reached down and pressed the foot props down for Adam to rest his feet on. "Now remember, the key is to get a lot of rest."

"Dr. Beckett, when do you think I'll be able to go back on active duty?" Adam asked before John started to wheel him away.

John couldn't really believe what he was hearing. Either Stackhouse was incredibly stupid or admirably committed.

"Are you serious?" Carson asked, dumbfounded. "Son, do you even realize what's happened to you? You were nearly killed, you can't even walk properly yet and you're asking about going back on duty? I can tell you this much, it won't be for at least two more weeks."

John noticed the expression on Adam's face and knew he was getting ready to object, but quickly intervened. "Sergeant, take it from an expert. It's not wise to argue with a doctor after he has spoken."

"Yes, sir." Adam said, defeated.

"Now remember, get ample amounts of rest and apply the ointment before you go to bed. And when possible, try to massage your muscles or do a light form of work to help get your strength back fully. But other than that no more off-world mission for a while." Feeling that he and Carson together had won a small battle, John began wheeling Adam out of the infirmary and towards his quarters. After five minutes of being pushed in the wheelchair, Adam was still uncomfortable about his ordeal and not being able to go back on duty for so long. Finally, he just decided to let it go. Besides, with John being his superior officer, what he thought really didn't matter. Sheppard put what was best for his people above everything else. Although getting closer to his quarters. Adam began to feel uneasy. However it was not about his health situation. Out of the corner of his eye, Adam thought he saw two figures in the corridor adjacent to the one they were in. Turning, what he saw had vanished as quickly as it had appeared, if it were ever there at all. Noticing and becoming concern, John thought he might inquire on the situation.

"You okay?" He asked after glancing down the other corridor quickly himself.

"Yes, sir. I thought I saw someone, but it was probably just my mind playing tricks on me again."

"Again?" Not really wanting to go into great detail about the previous night's experience Adam just gave John the same explanation that Carson had given him.

"You know, the whole stress deal. My mind trying to comprehend everything." Just nodding and accepting it, John left it at that. Adam, not wanting to think about that anymore either, leaned his head back and closed his eyes for the remainder of the trip. Finally reaching Adam's quarters, John pushed the wheelchair cattycornered to the door, reaching over and pressing the crystal to open the door.

Adam's room was neatly organized, unlike his own, so it was easy to make his way over to the bed with having to steer the wheelchair. Leaning down and locking the wheels in place, John placed one arm around Adam's back and used his other hand to gently pull on Adam's non-bandaged hand. Still uneasy on his feet, Adam once again nearly fell, but his balance was better than it was earlier in the infirmary.

"Take it easy." John told him. Helping him steady himself, John walked Adam over to his bed and eased him down. Still in the hospital clothes, Adam really wanted to change but he was still feeling groggy from the medicine that was still coursing through his veins. Deciding to wait on changing, he felt it was better for him to try and take a small nap before trying to adjust to life off duty.

"Thanks for the help, sir." Adam told John, looking up at him.

"Anytime. Like the doc said, get some rest. Call if you need anything." John said, heading back towards the door. Before he left, John paused and turned back to face Adam. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Dr. Weir wants you to stop by and pay her a visit when you feel up to it. She would come by but she's really busy."

"Yes, sir. I'll do that."

"Good. But get some sleep first. That's an order." John told him before leaving. As the door closed behind him, Adam glanced out the window next to his bed. The sun was still pretty high in the sky, but the lack of darkness didn't keep him from getting to sleep. Gently lying back on his bed, Adam closed his eyes and once again let the peaceful feeling of sleep over take him.

Adam's rest did not last long however. Jerking wide-awake hours later, covered in sweat, he began having flashbacks to the pain of what happened a week earlier. He was unsure of the time but could tell it was late evening or early morning. The sun had disappeared beneath the horizon and the stars were shinning brightly in the sky above. Sitting up, Adam pulled off the shirt he had on. Wincing at the pain he felt from the burn on his chest, he reached over and opened the box with the sleeping pill. Swallowing two pills dryly, he then reached for the small jar, which he had also placed by his bed. Putting a small amount on his fingertips, he began to gently rub the ointment onto his burn. Immediately feeling a cooling effect, Adam replaced the jar back on the table by his bed. Before going back to sleep, Adam quickly began massaging his arms and legs to ease the tenderness out of his muscles. Leaning back, he laid there until the sleep medication kicked in.

When morning came, Adam felt relaxed and fully rested. Well, almost fully. His muscles were still sore and his chest still hurt like hell. Leaning up and moving to a sitting position, Adam once again began massaging his muscles. After a few minutes of rubbing his arms, legs, and back, Adam slowly got up. Still a little woozy, he steadied himself on the few objects tall enough for him to reach out and hold on to. Gradually, he made his way to his bathroom. Stripping off the rest of the hospital garments he was wearing, Adam turned his shower on to the hottest setting that he could stand. Once he had gotten the temperature adjusted to where he wanted it, Adam stepped in and began letting the hot water flow over his body. Instantly he could feel some to the tension begin to leave his muscles. He didn't know how long he just stood there, nor did he care. It wasn't like he had to be anywhere at a certain time. After about fifteen minutes in the shower, Adam turned the water off and stepped out. Drip-drying for a minute, he began to feel uneasy once again. Knowing that he should be the only one in his bathroom, Adam couldn't help but glance around, just to make certain that he was in fact alone. Though he could not see anything, through the steam in his bathroom he began to hear talking. Not seeing anyone, Adam wrapped a towel around his waist and went back to the living space.

"Hello?" he called out. No one showed themselves to him. However, the talking he heard was still persistent. "Is anyone in here?" he asked once again. Still no one could be seen. The voices began to fade away after a minute more. Confused but wanting an explanation, Adam began telling himself that what he heard was coming from the hall. He continued to think that until he started to believe it, not wanting the thought that he was going crazy to begin slipping into his mind. After the whole ordeal, Adam whet to his closet to get dressed and try to put what had just happened behind him. At first, he almost grabbed one of his uniforms but then remember that he wasn't on duty for two more weeks. Grabbing a pair of gray cargo pants, a long sleeved white shirt with a black short sleeved one to go over it, Adam dressed as quickly as his muscles would allow. He felt uncomfortable not wearing his usual military attire but figured that he would have to get used to it. When he was fully dressed, he slowly made his way towards the control room in order to meet with Dr. Weir.

As Adam made his way to the control room, he took the steps one at a time, resting after he took a few at a time. Normally, he would have been able to conquer the steps in no time at all. But unfortunately, that was not the case this time. When he finally made it into the control room, Adam was unsure of all the stares he was receiving. Some were of concern; others seemed to be happy that he was up and about. And still, there were those who didn't even notice that he was even in the control room. Through the glass, he could see that Elizabeth was in her office, sitting at her desk looking over some documents. Using the rails of the catwalk bridging, the control room to her office, Adam finally made it to her door. Knocking, not wanting to startle her, Adam made his presence known.

"Dr. Weir? You wanted to see me?" Looking up, she gave him a smile.

"Sergeant, please come in. Have a seat." Allowing him to sit down and settle in, Elizabeth began organizing the many different folders and papers on her desk.

"I apologize for being out of uniform ma'am. But it's doctor's orders." Adam told her apologetically.

Elizabeth really didn't notice that at first. However, she did have to admit, it seemed a little odd seeing Stackhouse out of uniform. "Please, don't worry about that. How are you feeling?"

"Better. Still a little sore though."

"Well, it's good to see you up and about. I'm sorry for making you come all this way up here in your condition but with everything that's been going on, I just don't really think that I could have found the time."

"It's okay, ma'am. The exercise will be good for me." He told her giving her a small smile. Quickly returning the smile, her expression changed to one of seriousness.

"I wanted to let you know, we were able to get a reading from the gate's data log. We're cross-referencing the data from the Ancient database to see if we can find a match. If we can figure out where this incident originated, maybe I can give you the answers that I know you're dying to know."

"Thank you ma'am. Is that all?"

"No. Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Beckett told me about your eagerness to get back out there. Just know, that out of all the people here in Atlantis, you are one of the more hard working individuals I know. Take the time and make the most out of your time off."

"Understood." Adam told her nodding. Getting up to leave, Adam turned towards the door back into the control room.

"Oh and Sergeant?" Elizabeth began, stopping Adam before he could fully exit.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Feel free to stop by any time if you need to talk or need anything."

"Thank you, ma'am. I will." With that, Adam made his way back into the control room and back down the stairs. Feeling kind of hungry and wanting some "real" food, Adam began to make his way towards the mess hall. Before heading directly to the mess hall, Adam decided that he would stop by the infirmary and ask Dr. Beckett about any types of side effects that the medicine that he had given him might have. Further down the corridor, Adam happened to see someone that he did not recognize turn off into another corridor. "Excuse me." He called out to the stranger, but received no response. Reaching the corridor where the unknown person had turned, Adam looked down the hall but saw no one. But what confused him the most was that there were no doors or other access points until much farther down. And the stranger couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes ahead of him. Not enough time to reach the first door. Standing in the hallway, confused, Adam did not know what to make out of what was happening.

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Okay peeps, hope that was long enough for ya. Hopefully the story has begun to interest you. If not, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Later. More to come soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Caught up in his own thoughts, Adam completely bypassed his trip to the infirmary. Instead, he made his way to the mess hall. Again, there were stares. But Adam didn't notice, or rather, he didn't care. Quite frankly, he was getting tired of the looks. Of course he could understand the concern from Dr. Beckett, Col. Sheppard, and Dr. Weir. Even Teyla's concern was appreciated. But everyone else was staring at him like he was horribly disfigured. And when someone came up to him, they treated him like he was going to break. Continuing to disregard the looks he was getting, Adam picked up a cup of coffee and proceeded to take a seat on the outdoor dining area, overlooking one of Atlantis's piers. Focusing on the ocean in the distance, the events of the day began to drift out of his mind. Even the clatter behind him began to fade away. All that was left were the buildings in the foreground, which began to blur as Adam continued to stare at the ocean.

After about thirty minutes, Rodney came into the mess hall. After getting a meal tray, he noticed Adam sitting alone outside. Realizing that he hasn't been to see Stackhouse since the incident, Rodney decided to go over and join him. As Rodney walked up beside him, Adam didn't seem to notice him. However, Rodney did notice that Adam was sketching what appeared to be a Stargate address. Deciding to break the ice, Rodney tried a joke.

"Is that the address of a girlfriend we don't know about?" Rodney was a little disappointed when he didn't get a reaction at first but then noticed the blank look on Adam's face. "Sergeant?" When he still didn't get a response, Rodney placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Sergeant?"

Snapping back to reality, Adam nearly knocked over his cup whenever Rodney put his hand on his shoulder. "Dr. McKay. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there."

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to being ignored," He said, sitting down, "especially by women."

Adam couldn't help but grin at McKay's addition to his statement. "Sorry, I wasn't purposely ignoring you. It's just…" Adam didn't finish his sentence before Rodney cut in.

"I know. I understand. How long have you been in here?"

"Just a few minutes." Adam told him, not realizing how much time had actually passed since he had arrived.

"So you're the kind of guy who drinks cold coffee?" Rodney asked while beginning to eat.

"I'm sorry?" Adam asked, confusion painted on his face.

"Your coffee doesn't exactly look like it's hot. I'm the kind of guy who likes coffee hot, myself." Picking up his cup and sticking a finger in it, Adam realized that McKay was right. His coffee was cold.

"I don't understand. I've only been here for…" Adam trailed off when he looked at his watch and noticed that he had been in the mess hall longer than he had originally thought. Frustrated, Adam leaned forward, propping his arms on the table and put his hands over his face. "I have GOT to get over this problem with time lags that I have."

"I can only imagine what you're going through." Rodney told him. Trying to change the subject, Rodney returned his attention to the glyphs Adam had sketched on the napkin in front of him. "Do you mind I look at that gate address?"

"I'm sorry?" Adam asked looking up, not really knowing what he was talking about.

"The Stargate address you drew on the paper towel in front of you." Rodney told him, motioning towards the napkin with his fork.

Glancing down, Adam's look of confusion only grew when he saw the symbols that he unknowingly drew. Not really understanding why he had drawn them, Adam immediately passed them over to Rodney. Giving them the once over, Rodney seemed like he recognized the symbols.

"Hmm. Have you been in the control room lately?" Rodney asked, looking up from the paper.

"Not since I talked with Dr. Weir this morning. Why?"

"Just curious to see if you've seen any addresses that might have subconsciously stuck with you. And just to let you know, from the information that we were able to recover, I think we were able to narrow down a few thousand gate addresses to a few hundred that might give us an origination point for the um… you know, the attack."

"You said from the information that you were able to recover. What exactly did you mean by that?" Adam asked, still trying to figure out where the gate address came from.

"Yeah, that beam thing, or what ever it was, somehow managed to scramble the computers." Rodney started to tell him in between bites. "We're slowly learning more about what happened. But we're still a long way from really knowing what happened."

Leaning back in his chair, Adam began to think, suddenly realizing that he had forgotten about going by the infirmary.

"Are you okay?" Rodney asked him, noticing the look on his face.

"Yeah," Adam began with a slight smile. "I just realized that I was on my way to the infirmary before I stopped by here. But, I got distracted and came straight here."

"Well, hopefully it wasn't really anything important." Rodney said before sticking the fork back in his mouth."

"Not really. But I think I should head there while I still have it on my mind."

"Good idea." Rodney told him, and then added, "have fun." Getting up, Adam gave McKay a smile and a nod, then headed back inside and made his way to the door back into the main corridor. As he was walking in the direction of the infirmary, Adam began to feel a slight pain in his head. Shrugging it off, he continued his way to see Dr. Beckett. However, along the way, the pain seemed to be increasing. About a third of the way there, the pain was still getting worse, along with his vision starting to become blurry. The good thing was that the door to the infirmary was twenty feet right in front of him. The pain had gotten so bad that he didn't hear Teyla come up behind him.

"Sergeant Stackhouse, are you alright?" she asked, standing next to him. Adam noticed that Teyla was in her workout attire and that her left hand was in a makeshift splint.

"My head feels like it's about to explode. It might be a side effect of the pills Dr. Beckett gave me." He told her, then indicated toward her hand, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just sprained my wrist while training with Lieutenant Langford." She told him, using a smile to try to convince him. Although he had a valid excuse, Teyla was worried that Adam was suffering from more than just side effects of some medicines. Her feelings were confirmed when Adam partially stumbled, then used the wall to help stabilize himself. Suddenly, the pain Adam was feeling increased ten fold, causing him completely loose his footing. Bracing his back against the wall, Adam slid down until he was on the floor. Instantly Teyla was by his side. "Sergeant Stackhouse!" Teyla became increasingly worried when she noticed the Adam had begun to bleed from his nose. Turning her head towards the infirmary door, she began to call for help. "Dr. Beckett! Come quickly!" When the door opened and Carson swiftly rushed out, Teyla turned her attention back to Adam. As Carson joined her by his side, Adam's vision blurred, then his eyes rolled back into his head. He could hear Teyla and Dr. Beckett and for a moment, he could also see them. When his vision returned, they were there for a second and then they faded away. As their forms disappeared, others quickly began to fill the hallway, scurrying around as if trying to stop someone or something. But they were not the people who belonged to the Atlantis expedition but were the original inhabitants of the city. All of a sudden, there was a violent tremor throughout the corridor, possibly the whole city. Those that were around him continued to move as though he wasn't even there. Three people suddenly stopped in front of him and began to speak to each other with great urgency.

"The Wraith have begun another siege on the city. Where is Mirac?" the first asked the other two.

"He managed to elude us as the attacks began. We don't know where he is." One of the others said.

"We must capture him immediately," the third began, "If he escapes and makes contact with the Wraith, the information he stole will lost forever." But before the three could make any other moves, they were suddenly immobilized by what appeared to be a Wraith stunner. Glancing in the direction the blasts came from, Adam saw a man in his mid to late thirties holding the weapon. By the look on his face, this must be Mirac, the one the three Atlanteans were talking about. As Mirac began walking towards Adam, the voice of Dr. Beckett began to fill his ears.

"Stackhouse, can you hear me?" The voice was distant at first but began to grow louder. As Mirac neared, he began to fade, along with the three he had stunned, and Dr. Beckett, Teyla and another nurse began to appear. "Sergeant, are you alright?" As reality snapped back to the present, Adam felt a towel under his nose, but not really sure why. With everything back to normal, Adam's eyes once again rolled back and his head fell limp. "Help me get him in the infirmary." Carson ordered when he noticed that Adam had passed out. Gently grabbing him by his arms, they carefully lifted Adam up and began to pull him into the infirmary where they laid him on a nearby bed. Grabbing a pen light, Carson shown the light into Adam's eyes, checking the ocular responses. "Sergeant?" Carson asked once again. This time, he got a response.

"What's goin' on?" Adam asked groggily as he tried to open his eyes and sit up. Gently pushing him back against the bed Carson then turned to Teyla.

"I'd like to know that too?"

Instantly offering her explanation of what had happened, Teyla told him of the events that had just occurred. "I was on my way to see you when I came across Sergeant Stackhouse," she began. "He was complaining of a headache. I believed him to be coming to see you as well, but before he got here, he collapsed." Before any of them could say anything further, there was another response from Adam.

"Did you see them?" he asked, still not fully coherent. Confused, both Carson and Teyla went to Adam's side. Stepping aside to let the nurse check Adam's vitals, Carson leaned closer to Adam.

"See who, son?" Carson asked him, still not sure what he was talking about.

"The Atlanteans. They were in the hall."

"Sergeant, there was no one in the hall except for us." Teyla told him. With his senses more aware than previously, Adam sat up, despite the protests of the nurse.

"That's impossible. There were standing in front of me just like you are now."

"Could it have not been the headache you were experiencing causing your vision to be unreliable?" Teyla asked him. Shaking his head no, Teyla turned to Carson. "Can it possibly be the medicine he is taking?"

"Headache and nosebleed, yes. Although it shouldn't have caused them to be that severe. However, it still wouldn't explain what he saw." With a look of worry and concern, Teyla glanced over at Adam, who once again was lying back on the bed, holding the towel under his nose.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Teyla was sitting with Adam on his bed in his quarters, accompanying him to make sure he made it safely. Still disheveled over the events that happened earlier, Adam was trying to sorts through his thoughts. Lifting his head out of his hands he looked to Teyla, who was watching him with concern.

"I know what I saw."

"I'm not doubting you. It's just that you've experienced a great deal lately. Plus, with your recovery, you've been under a lot of stress." Giving her a smile Adam sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.

"Not to mention the eagerness to go back on duty." Smiling, Teyla shifted on the bed so she was sitting directly in front of him. "But it's not just what happened today outside the infirmary. Ever since I woke up, I've been hearing things, more recently seeing things. Even when I sleep, my dreams get kind of weird. Do you think I'm crazy?"

Caught off guard by the question, Teyla didn't really know what to say. Quickly thinking, she told him the first thing that came to her. "No. Not at all. I just think that you haven't fully rested and believe that what you saw was just your mind coping."

Not really buying it, Adam just smiled at her. "Thanks. But I still think people think I'm going crazy. Hell, _I_ think I'm going crazy."

"I don't believe anyone thinks you're crazy. However, I would recommend talking to Dr. Heightmeyer. She could probably help you more than I have. I know she was able to help me with understanding my ability to connect with the Wraith." Letting what Teyla had just sink in a bit, Adam began to consider it. After everything that had happened, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. "I should go. You need your rest."

"Thank you, ma'am. For everything."

"You're quite welcome, sergeant." With a nod and a small smile, Teyla got up and left. Sliding down, Adam stared at the ceiling in his quarters, trying to drag up enough courage to make his way to see Dr. Heightmeyer.

Sitting at her desk in her office, Elizabeth was talking with John and Carson. Having been informed of what had happened, both were becoming increasingly worried.

"I don't know what to think." Carson told them. "Of course the medications I gave him could cause the headaches and nosebleeds, however not that serious. But it's his hallucinations that have me worried the most."

"Well I can hardly say I blame him." John said, looking from Carson to Elizabeth. "Kid's been through a lot. Most people wouldn't have gotten this far after experiencing something like that."

"Stackhouse nearly died. Even though we've been here for a while, this place is still pretty creepy at times. Those two factors together could make a crazy person worse. But I believe there's more to it than what meets the eye." Elizabeth told them.

"What exactly do you mean?" John asked her. Before she could answer, Teyla entered from the doors at the rear of Elizabeth's office.

"I'm sorry. Am I interrupting?"

"No, Teyla, please, come in." Elizabeth told her, motioning towards the small couch.

"How's Stackhouse?" John asked her, turning in his chair to face her.

"Resting. But he believes that he is going crazy and that everyone else believes so also."

"Poor kid." John said, looking around at everyone in the room.

"I mentioned to him that he should consider consulting Dr. Heightmeyer."

"Good thinking, Teyla." Elizabeth said, leaning back in her chair. Leaning forward, Carson began to get up.

"I need to get back to the infirmary. I'll run some more tests later to make sure that everything is alright with Stackhouse." Nodding to them, Carson began walking the catwalk, nearly getting run over by Rodney on his way to see Elizabeth.

"Oh good, you're all here." He said, noticing that John and Teyla were in her office as well.

"Rodney what's wrong?" Elizabeth asked him, once again leaning forward in her chair.

"Well, we've managed to narrow down a list of possible origin addresses for the attack to a half a dozen. Just thought you'd like to know."

"Finally." John said. Noticing the look of aggravation on Rodney's face, John quickly added to his statement. "No offense Rodney. I just meant that we're finally getting somewhere." A little more satisfied, Rodney's expression softened a little. Getting up they all headed to the control room over to one of the technicians at the console to the far end of the room.

"Pull up the list." Rodney told the young lady working the controls. Typing a few commands into her laptop, the screen that she had was brought up on the plasma screen they had placed above the console. After a few seconds, a list of six addresses appeared on the screen. Looking at the screen, they each gave it the once over. However, Rodney was the only one with a different expression at the others. "Huh. That's weird."

"What?" John asked, not sure what he meant. Reaching into his pocket, Rodney pulled out a paper towel.

"Rodney, this is the wrong time for you to go into one of your eating frenzies." Elizabeth told him, not quite sure why he was getting the napkin in the first place.

"Hah, hah. This address is the same as one on the list." He told her, handing the paper towel to her. Taking it from him, Elizabeth, with John looking over her shoulder, examined the piece of paper.

"Where did you get this?" John asked, while Elizabeth was still comparing the addresses.

"Sergeant Stackhouse."

"What?" Elizabeth asked him, looking up at him with confusion on her face.

"Well, when I went into the mess hall, he was sitting in there. When I went over to see how he was doing, he was spaced out, drawing that." He told them, indicating to the napkin. Still confused, John, Elizabeth and Teyla were immediately distracted by the beeping of the laptop that the technician was working with.

"Ma'am," the young female, Jamison, began, "I've checked that address with the gate control log, the sensor log matches with both the address and when the phenomena occurred." The tech told them, turning around to face them. Not really sure what to think, the confusion on their faces just continued to grow.

Making his way through the corridors, Adam was doing everything he could to keep himself from turning around and going back to his quarters. Admitting to himself that he was extremely nervous, Adam justified the visit as a way to return to duty as quickly as possible.

'So what if people think I'm crazy.' he thought to himself, 'Lots of people visit psychiatrists. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'm nuts or something.'

Finally reaching the door to Dr. Heightmeyer's office, Adam worked up what bit of courage he hadn't already used in getting there to open the door. Inside, Kate Heightmeyer was sitting at her desk filling out some kind of papers. Noticing that she didn't see him come in, Adam was torn whether or not to turn and run or make his way into her office. Beginning to go with his instincts and leave, Adam was stopped when Kate looked up from her desk and look at him.

"Sergeant. What can I do for you?" She asked him, putting her work aside and getting up and walking towards him.

"I was um, wondering if you had the time, do you think I could talk to you?" he told her, the nervousness clear in his voice. "Teyla recommended that I should come to see you. She said that you could possibly help me."

"Of course." She told him, motioning towards the chairs at the window and reaching for a note pad on her desk. Still reluctant, Adam moved over and took a seat in the chair closest to the window. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused, tired, good. In all honesty, I really don't know." He said to her leaning back as far as he could in the chair.

"What exactly is going through your mind, sergeant?"

"Please, call me Adam."

"Okay, Adam. What's wrong?"

Sighing, Adam tried to explain what he was feeling. "I'm not sure. I think I'm going crazy. I know everyone else thinks so, even though they deny it."

"Why do you think you're crazy?"

"I've been hearing things, seeing them too. At first, I thought it was just my imagination running wild, but it started happening more frequently."

"That's natural after facing a traumatic experience. In passing, I heard about what happened earlier."

Closing his eyes, embarrassed, Adam leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands, he sighed. "The whole base probably heard about that by now and thinks I've gone crazy."

"Tell me about what you saw. But start from when this first started happening."

"Well," Adam began, once again leaning back in the chair. "When I first woke up from, well, the incident that first night, I thought I heard someone in the infirmary. It was just mumbling at first so I couldn't make it out. Then, when Colonel Sheppard took me to my quarters, I thought I saw someone in the corridor out of the corner of my eye. That would have been natural except for when I looked, there wasn't anybody there."

Taking a few notes, Kate looked up at him. "Go on."

"This morning after I took a shower, I thought I heard talking in my quarters. Dr. Weir wanted to talk to me so I went to see her. Nothing happened while I was with her but on my way to see Dr. Beckett, I saw someone in the halls that looked like he didn't belong. When I turned where he turned, he was gone. I didn't know what to think of that."

"What do you mean?" she asked him, not quite sure of what he was saying.

"He was only a few seconds ahead me and the nearest door was meters away. He couldn't have made it, even running. After that, I was in the mess hall, and then Dr. McKay showed up. Apparently, I had been in the mess hall longer than I had thought. If it weren't for Dr. McKay, I wouldn't have even noticed what I was doing."

"What exactly were you doing?" Kate asked him, still making notes.

"Drawing a Stargate address. I don't know where it came from. I've never seen it before and I didn't see any being displayed in the control room when I was there."

"Why do you think being in the control room would have had anything to do with it?"

"Something Dr. McKay had said about it sticking with me subconsciously."

Smiling to herself, Kate continued to make a few notes. "After that is when you went to the infirmary, correct?"

"Yes ma'am. That's when things went from bad to worse."

"Tell me about what you saw."

"I was in Atlantis, but not now. It was when the ancients were still here. There were three of them. One looked like he was in a high position by the way he was dressed. The other two seemed to be guards. The city was under attack by the Wraith and they were looking for someone named Mirac. Apparently he was working with the Wraith, although I wouldn't know why. All of a sudden, they were hit by a stunner and this guy walked out of the shadows towards them. I assumed that this was the Mirac person they were talking about."

"What happened next?"

"Everything faded and Dr. Beckett and Teyla were back in front of me."

"Adam, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't really know why you would be seeing that. But what I can tell you is that you're possibly suffering from a mild case of Post-traumatic stress disorder. It's normal after someone goes through something as distressful as you went through."

"But what can I do to try to make it stop?"

"Lets try this. Lean back and close your eyes." Not really sure why but wanting to do whatever to get over this feeling, Adam did as he was told. "Now clear your mind. Focus on nothing. Slowly, take deep breaths. Try to relax and just let your mind wonder." After a minute of silence, Kate spoke up again. "Whenever you feel tense just try going through that exercise." Actually calm, Adam's peace did not last long. Suddenly there was laughing in the room. Increasingly aware, Adam quickly glanced up began looking around the room. Adam couldn't believe his eyes. Right in front of him, in the very same room, was Mirac, the person from his vision.

"I can't believe how pathetic you are." Unable to understand what was happening, Adam just positioned himself farther back in the chair, trying to get away from whatever Mirac was.

Kate happened to notice Adam's actions. Glancing to where he was looking, she didn't see anything. Looking back at Adam, she could see the fear in his eyes. "Adam? Adam, what's wrong?"

"He's right there. Right in front of me."

Looking again, Kate still didn't see anything. Turing back to Adam, Kate got up and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Adam, look at me. There's no one there." Glancing to Kate, he could see that she didn't see what he saw. Looking back, Mirac was gone.

"He was there. I know I wasn't imagining it."

"Who was there?"

"The guy from my vision, Mirac." Adam told her, the sweat forming on his forehead as a sign of fear.

"Adam, there was no one there. Try going back to your quarter and resting. Maybe you'll feel better. Then come back and see me tomorrow."

Still clearly disheveled, Adam nodded and made his way to the door.

"I'm sorry." He told her, barely audible.

"For what?"

"For what just happened. I know I looked, and probably sounded, like an idiot."

"No. No don't apologize. It's normal for some to react differently in times of great stress. But just get some rest. Come back when you feel better." With his back still to Kate, Adam just nodded, opened the door and made his way back to his quarters.

Extremely concerned and worried, Kate gathered her notes and set out to find Dr. Weir. Making her way to the transporter, Kate touched screen on the indicator for the transporter in the Control tower. After the brief flash, Kate turned in the direction of the control room. She didn't have to go far to find Weir. Nearing the control room, Elizabeth turned the corner into the hall where Kate was walking.

"Dr. Weir." Glancing over, Elizabeth saw Kate.

"Dr. Heightmeyer. How are you?" She asked, pausing to let Kate catch up with her.

"I'm fine. However, it's Sergeant Stackhouse I'm worried about." Motioning for them to continue, they made their way to the stairs that led up to the control room. Climbing the stairs into the control room, they made their way over towards Elizabeth's office.

"Yes. Teyla told us that she recommended to him that he should talk to you."

"I'm really worried about him. He started hallucinating during our session. He mentioned someone named Mirac."

"Hold on. Mirac."

"Ring a bell, does it?"

"Well we found the address for the planet where that beam thing came from." Elizabeth told her. "Strangely, there was an attachment file of sorts with the address. It talked about someone named Mirac. We're still looking over the file though." Reaching her office, Elizabeth went to her desk and pulled up the file on her laptop, while Kate took a seat in one of the other chairs.

"Would this be the same address that Sergeant Stackhouse was drawing?"

"He mentioned that, did he?"

"Yeah." Turning the laptop towards her, Kate leaned forward and began to look over the file, which had partially been translated from ancient. Before she could get very far into the translation, Rodney came across the catwalk and into the office.

"Rodney, what have you got?" Elizabeth asked him.

"We've uh, identified the energy signature of the beam."

"Good job."

"It's not anything we've encountered her in Pegasus. But we have seen it before."

"Really? Where?"

"On Earth. Or rather later on Earth. When General O'Neill, who at the time was a colonel, encountered the first repository. Teams later went to retrieve the device and take it back to Area 51 for research. From the notes I saw, a miniscule energy signature was discovered. Now I had a copy of the research and just out of curiosity, I compared them. They were a perfect match."

"Could that explain what's been happening to Stackhouse?" Kate asked, looking to Rodney for answers.

"Probably, but I don't know."

"We need to have Carson run some more tests. See if there is anything serious happening to Stackhouse."

"You mean more serious than nearly getting killed?" Rodney asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Not really sure what to think, Elizabeth looked at Kate, who then looked to the computer screen. Even though another piece of the puzzle had fallen into place, they were still nowhere near solving the complete picture.

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Hey, guys. Sorry it's been a while. School has been hectic lately. And I also apologize if some parts of the chapter seem choppy and if they seem not all that great. I'll try to work on that in the future, but enjoy what I have so far.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. The last week of April and the first two weeks of May were really hectic. I had exams and some of them involved writing essays. That caused me to develop a SERIOUS case of writers block, which took me about a week and a half to over, come. I'm sorry that some of this may seem like major BS but I tried. I also make a good many reference back to SG-1, but no spoilers for the series. Well, enjoy.

Chapter 4

Gathered around the conference room table, Elizabeth, John, Teyla, Rodney, Carson, and Kate were studying the copies of all the notes that they had received, trying to figure out how to handle the situation that had recently presented itself. Studying a copy of the notes, Kate was the first to speak.

"Mirac was exiled to this planet?"

"Apparently." Elizabeth answered.

"So basically, what you're saying is that there is now a very slim chance that this is not just a coincidence?" Kate asked before turning back to her folder.

"Basically, yeah."

"What did this Mirac guy do that was so bad?" John asked, looking through the folder that was in front of him.

"From what we've been able to determine, he was able to find a way to become immune to the Wraith's feeding process." Elizabeth told him.

"So what's the problem with that? It would seem to me that that would be okay with the others. It would be a major advantage to them. " John inquired, confused to why this information was so horrible.

"Here's the kicker," Elizabeth started, "his methods were unethical. But that's not what's so horrible. He was working _with_ the Wraith."

Stopping midway flipping through his folder, Rodney's, along with the other's, attention was immediately drawn to Elizabeth. "What?"

"At first, it started as a study of a deceased Wraith guard that was procured. He set out to do what he did, but the other Ancients had better methods in mind."

"How did he go against the others?" This time, it was Teyla who was trying to understand.

"In his experiments, he began using human test subjects. However, many of his experiments started exhibiting multiple complications, then death."

"What kind of complications?" Carson asked after flipping through some of the pages in the folder. Judging by the look on her face, everyone knew that what Elizabeth was about to say, wasn't going to be present.

"It varied by the subject." Elizabeth told them. "But most of the cases involved the human subject's physiology beginning to mock that of a Wraith's. When their bodies couldn't adapt, they died. Others began to take on traits and/or characteristics of a Wraith. Some, like the experiment's done on Teyla's people, began to tap into the Wraith telepathic network." Beginning to understand the complexity of the case at hand, Rodney was next to speak.

"But how was…" Rodney didn't even get a chance to finish asking his question before Elizabeth stepped back in and finished it for him.

"He able to do this? He was a geneticist, among other things. He was able to manipulate DNA on a subatomic level."

"But that's impossible. Genetic manipulation on that level just isn't able to be preformed accurately, let alone done in the first place." Carson said, arguing from his medical perspective.

"Not for us maybe, but for the ancients, it could have been like riding a bicycle. Assuming of course they had bicycles." John said. Getting back on subject John quickly resumed learning about Mirac. "You said he was a geneticist among other things. What else did he do?"

"Well, from what we've been able to determine, he was also a physicist." Elizabeth said, leaning forward and placing her hands on the table.

"Why did this Mirac join forces with the Wraith?" Teyla asked, unsure of why such action would be taken.

"Apparently," Elizabeth started, "he didn't like the way the war was going. Actually, I can't say I blame him. But he was basically already on his third strike with the other Ancients. When he presented his idea of using the Stargate as a bomb on Wraith inhabited worlds, he lost it. After that, he actually managed to overtake the control room and incapacitate the ones in there. Mirac was able to destroy two worlds before he was stopped."

"Okay. I get _why_ he's so bad. But what does that have to do with the attack and Stackhouse?" John asked after hearing this information.

"Well, he was a high ranking scientist among the Ancients before he started turning toward less ethical methods. But Rodney can tell you more about that than I can." Elizabeth responded, looking towards Rodney, who didn't really know what she was talking about at first.

"Huh?" Rodney asked, the confused look still painted on his face.

"Rodney."

"Oh, yeah." Rodney said, realizing what Elizabeth had meant. "Uh, in the Milky Way, the ancients left repositories on certain worlds with their database contained inside them. When General O'Neill was still apart of SG-1, he managed to have both databases downloaded into his brain. Now, the Asgard were able to remove the information before it killed him and we were able to learn a lot. Even though the first device's power source was depleted, it was still extracted and taken to Area 51 for study."

"I'm sorry," Teyla said, "Area 51?"

"It's a super-secret base back on Earth where they do a lot of top secret research and development." John explained. Noticing the nod from Teyla, which indicated that she now understood a little more, Rodney resumed his portion of the briefing.

"The scientists doing the research discovered an almost undetectable energy signature still radiating from the device. That signature matches perfectly with the beam thing that came through the Stargate."

"But that still doesn't explain what's happening with Stackhouse." John interjected, slightly agitated.

"Yes, well, I was just about to get to that before I was rudely interrupted. According to the file that was attached to the gate address, Mirac was doing research in transferring his consciousness, or at least a copy of his consciousness into another vessel."

"_Vessel_?" Carson asked, not entirely sure of what Rodney had meant.

"You know, another body or a computer for instance. Anything with the capacity to hold some type of information. Anyway, it's possible that this is where the Asgard got the idea of transferring their consciousness into their cloned bodies." With what Rodney had just said beginning to click, Carson immediately realized the situation.

"So the erratic brainwaves on Sergeant Stackhouse's EEG weren't his."

"What!" John asked, completely confused.

"That could possibly explain why Stackhouse has been hearing and seeing things." Kate said, looking around at everyone in the room.

"What could?" John once again asked, still confused and still being ignored.

"Possibly," Rodney started, "but this all speculation at the moment. We need more information before anything definite is said."

"Okay, if I have to ask WHAT one more time, I'm gonna shot somebody." John told them, aggravated, confused, and concerned.

"General O'Neill didn't show any signs that something was wrong at first; it took some time. But at the moment, it's believable that the funky brainwaves on Stackhouse's EEG are actually parts of Mirac's thoughts and memories trying to break through." Looking towards Kate and Carson, Rodney began speculating on the cause. "Now, basically both times that Stackhouse went bonkers was when he was in pain or very relaxed, right?"

"Despite your choice of words, yes." Kate told him, slightly agitated about Rodney's wording.

"But the point is," Rodney began, "is that hallucinations that Stackhouse has been experiencing is possibly a result of thoughts and memories that have been downloaded into his subconscious trying to integrate into his conscious mind. Perhaps even trying to takeover completely."

"What are you saying?" John asked, trying to comprehend what Rodney was telling them. "This guy digitally stored his marbles to transfer later and finish his dark and evil work?"

Beginning to go into one of his moods, Rodney became increasingly annoyed. " I don't know. Maybe he hoped something like this would happen ten thousand years sooner so he could have an intelligent conversations with himself."

"Keep it up McKay." John replied with his own annoyance showing in his voice.

"Gentlemen!" Elizabeth intervened before a fight broke out. "We need to keep cool heads this situation. Fighting won't help anything."

"I really don't know why this happened, but I kinda have a theory on _how_ it happened." Rodney said, regaining his composure.

"Please, do tell." Kate urged.

"About two and a half years ago, SG-1 came across a planet that had a piece of Ancient technology that holographically displayed the genetic makeup of a test subject and then could be used to alter their DNA. The dark side of the experimentation of this was seen in the population, who were being experimented on by the Goa'uld Nirrti. She was on a quest to create the perfect human host. Perhaps the same thing happened with this situation. A device was created using both aspects of the Ancient machines."

"Is there anything that we can do to resolve the situation?" Teyla asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure." Elizabeth answered, the anxiety clearly painted on her face and in her voice.

"I can run some more tests to see if anything shows up." Carson told them, making a few notes for reference.

"Did you not say that it is possible that Sergeant Stackhouse is experiencing Mirac's memories?" Teyla inquired, the look on her face indicating she was thinking.

"Yeah." Rodney replied, not really sure where she was going with this. "Why?"

"Would it not be possible for Dr. Heightmeyer to try hypnosis to see if anymore information could be obtained?"

Both Elizabeth and Kate happened to glance up at the same time upon hearing Teyla's proposal.

"That could possibly work." Kate said, thinking it over. "By digging, for lack of a better term, into Stackhouse's subconscious, maybe we could finally find out why this happened."

"Why not?" John said, immediately beginning to like the idea. "It worked with Teyla."

"It's worth a shot. For all we know, this could only be the first in a wave of attacks or maybe an invasion." Elizabeth told them. "Carson, after you run your tests, work with Dr. Heightmeyer on the hypnosis."

"Right." Carson began. "Something is still unclear to me though. How did whoever know that there was going to be someone in the path of the beam?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Rodney cut in. "Judging by the damage in the gate room, I was a little curious myself. I found that there were _two_ energy signatures. One, had the shield not been raised, was powerful enough to do a lot of damage. Maybe even destroy the control room; creating a chain reaction that could have destroyed the entire city. And we know all know about the other one."

"How did you figure out that the entire city could have been destroyed?" John asked, extremely confused as to how all of the explained events could have occurred.

"Well, from the energy readings, the resulting explosions in the gate room would have caused catastrophic structural damage causing the jumper bay to collapse in on top of the control room. The drones in the jumpers would have caused even more damage, making its way to the naquadah generator in the control tower. Not to mention to add the devastation when the energy waves would have made their way to the Zed P. M. Now if we had three full charged…" Rodney explained but was cut off by Elizabeth.

"Okay, we get it."

"Right, sorry. Anyways, I figure it was a double shot. Both the weapon and the other thing fired through at the same time. Just incase one plan failed the backup would work. Obviously, the shield held back worst one but was drained, therefore letting the bad one through."

"We don't know how this will affect Stackhouse in the long run. So lets get moving before we loose anymore time." Elizabeth said, absorbing the information.

"Uh, just one more thing." John started as everyone began to stand up and the doors to the conference room opened. "Who gets to explain all of this to Stackhouse?" Judging by the different areas that were covered in the briefing, it was clear that it was not going to be an easy job for just one person.

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Adam was restless. As he lay in bed, sweat was beaded across his forehead. Tossing around, he could feel that something wasn't right, despite the fact that he wasn't conscious.

_He was walking the halls of Atlantis. But something was different somehow. He felt like he wasn't in control of his body. Like there was someone or something controlling him. That wasn't the only thing that was different. There was more activity going on. Suddenly, he stopped. Peering around the corner, he what he saw shocked him on some level. The three Atlanteans from his vision earlier where standing there. Again the scenario played out, but from an alternate perspective. Meeting in the same spot, the desperate conversation began._

"_The Wraith have begun another siege on the city. Where is Mirac?" _

"_He managed to elude us as the attacks began. We don't know where he is."_

"_We must capture him immediately. If he escapes and makes contact with the Wraith, the information he stole will be lost forever."_

_Adam felt himself look down. Down at the stunner he was holding. He could feel himself raising the weapon, aiming and firing._

With his eyes snapping open, Adam glanced around at his surroundings. He was in his quarters. Everything appeared to be normal. Throwing the covers off of him, Adam got up and headed to his bathroom. Turning on his sink, he splashed the cold water on his face, trying to recompose himself. Turing off the water, he grabbed a nearby towel and began drying his face. However, he nearly fell when he glanced in the mirror. The face that stared back at him was not his own but the face of Mirac.

Jerking awake into a sitting position, Adam tried to catch his breath as the sweat rolled down the side of his face. 'Am I really awake this time?' he asked himself. Judging by the way his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, he quickly determined he was. Putting his hand over his heart, Adam got a chill when his hand touched his chest. Despite the fact that he was hot and covered with sweat, his hands were cold, which, he figured, could not be good. Glancing over to his window, Adam could tell that it was late evening. The setting sun still cast a faint orange glow on t he water, the sensation calming him for a split second. His peace did not last long though as a knock on his door shattered the quiet. Getting up, Adam didn't even bother reaching for his shirt as he made his was to the door. Opening it, he was surprised to see John and Elizabeth standing there.

"Sergeant, are you okay?" John asked, noticing how Adam appeared.

"Yes, sir. Just a bad dream." He told him while rubbing his forehead. "Is everything alright, sir?"

John looked to Elizabeth to start when he didn't really know how to.

"Sergeant, do you mind if we come in?" She asked.

"No. Not at all." He replied, stepping aside to let them in. "I'm sorry for not being dressed."

"Don't be." Elizabeth told him. "Uh, you might want to sit down for this. It gets kinda complicated at times."

"What does?" He asked while sitting down on the edge of his bed, not sure of what she was talking about.

"First off," John began, "we may have partially figured out what's been happening to you."

Instantly, Adam was fully awake.

"Mirac was an Ancient scientist." Elizabeth told him. "He worked on finding ways to fight against the Wraith. But his methods were less that perfect."

"Basically he was on the 'three-strike' plan working on his ninth strike." John said, adding his own, simplistic view of the situation.

"From hearing about your vision, I assume it's safe to say that you know he alluded capture during an attack on the city."

Nodding, Adam let everything sink in. "But why am I seeing these things?" Adam asked, the worry clearly heard on his voice.

"Apparently, Mirac was researching on transferring his consciousness. We believe that the beam was emanated by the device that was created for the transfer. Combined with another device, whoever fired it into the Stargate was trying to destroy us."

"Is that all?" he asked, looking up at them.

"No," Elizabeth said. "There's more but it's still being translated."

"Dr. Beckett wants you to come by for a few tests. Then, Dr. Heightmeyer wants to try to hypnotize you to see if there is any more information that we can learn." John told him.

"Sergeant, I can only imagine what you're going through and that this is a lot for you to process. But we believe that this is the only way to find a way to reverse what has happened." Elizabeth said. "I'll also get you a copy of what we know and anything else we learn after the translations have been finished."

Nodding, Adam got up and grabbed a shirt and headed toward the door.

"Thank you. For everything." He told them.

"Where are you going?" John asked, confused.

"To see Dr. Beckett. Now's a good of a time as any."

"You really need to rest, Sergeant." Elizabeth objected.

"No offense ma'am, but I really don't see that happening right now."

"Okay." She said, nodding that she understood. Pulling on his shirt, Adam began heading towards the infirmary.

Looking towards John, Elizabeth received one of his signature looks. With that, they left Adam's quarters and headed in the opposite direction.

Lost in thought, time passed quickly for Adam as he made his way to the infirmary. When he arrived, he found Carson sitting at his desk looking over some charts that were in front of him. Unsure as to how aware Carson was of his presence, he cautiously gained his attention.

"Dr. Beckett?" Adam called, not wanting Carson to cause himself any injury by startling him. Turning, Carson gave Adam a smile.

"Sergeant, you're starting to be seen in here far too often." He joked. Suddenly noticing that Adam was wearing a pair of jogging pants, a sleeveless shirt and no shoes, he automatically knew why he was there. "So I take it you've been informed, then?"

"Yes, sir. Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard just told me." Adam told him, walking over to one of the beds. "They said you wanted to do some more tests?"

"Aye. First off, I want to take a few blood samples. I assume you also know about wanting to try the hypnotherapy?"

"Yeah." He said, sitting down on one of the beds. "Forgive me for being skeptical, but I really don't see how that'll work."

Placing a needle next to Adam on the bed, Carson reached for one of the rubber straps that was close to him and tied it around Adam's upper arm. Searching for a vein, Carson did his best to try and explain.

"Well, I'm not a psychiatrist, but the way I understand it is that we're going to see if you can tell us something you know that you don't realize you know. I've seen it done when we used the procedure on Teyla. Dr. Heightmeyer can tell you more about it than I can." He explained, giving Adam a smile. Placing the needle next to Adam's skin, Carson hesitated before proceeding. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

After pressing the needle into Adam's vein, Carson attached one of the three test tubes to the line and began to fill them. When all three were full, Carson removed the needle and pressed a small wad of gauze over the puncture hole.

"If you don't mind me asking," Adam began, "what exactly are you looking for?"

"To be honest, I don't really know. But I'll know it when I find it." Carson told him, placing a piece of medical tape over the gauze. Noticing the dark circles that were under his eyes, Carson realized that the stress had started to take its toll on Stackhouse. Taking in the fact that Stackhouse was probably not getting the sleep he needed, Carson decided to wait before putting the younger man through anything else. "You know, I'm just going to hold off on those other tests."

Adam let out a slight sigh of relief after hearing those words. To be honest, he really didn't feel like being poked and prodded, despite the fact that he wanted to find out what was happening to him.

"Are you sleeping well?" Carson asked, placing the vials of blood next to the equipment on his desk. Turning around, Carson didn't even need an answer. He just wanted to hear it from Adam.

"No". Adam admitted. "At night, I just toss and turn. And when I do finally fall asleep, I have these weird dreams that wake me up."

"If you'd like, I can give you something to help you sleep." Carson offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks." He told him. "Honestly, I feel like I'm on enough meds to open my own pharmacy."

Smiling, Carson gave him an understanding look. "If you change your mind let me know."

"Thanks doc. Is there anything else?"

"At the moment, no. Just try and rest. And go talk with Dr. Heightmeyer when you can."

"Yes, sir." With that, Adam got off the bed and made his way out of the infirmary. Watching him leave, Carson couldn't help but feel sorry for what he was going through. Turning his attention back to the vials of blood that were on his desk. Carson proceeded to prepare for the various tests he needed to do.

Walking down the corridors, Adam wasn't sure where he was planning on going next. He thought about making his way to the gym, to see if he could try to exhaust himself so he could sleep. Other places popped in his head also. The control room, the mess hall, even the jumper bay. Just to take his mind off of everything else. Finally his destination came to him. Hoping it wasn't to late in the evening, Adam made his way to the transporter. Once in the chamber, he pressed the screen indicating the closest transporter to Dr. Heightmeyer's office. After the short trip, Adam proceeded down the hall and in no time came to Kate's door. Pressing the crystal to open the door, Adam stuck his head in to see if Kate was around. Noticing that she was at the window and didn't seem to be aware that he was there, Adam decided to knock to alert her of his presence.

"Dr. Heightmeyer?"

Turning away from the window, Kate gave Adam a smile. "Adam. Hi."

"Is this a bad time?"

"Of course not. Come on in." Making his way out of the door's threshold, Adam made his way to the chair near the window. Sitting down, he glanced out at the two visible piers of the city, illuminated with a mix of the city's lighting, the stars, and the miniscule sunlight that shone above the horizon. "Peaceful isn't it?"

"Yeah." Adam replied, not taking his gaze away from the view.

"What's on your mind?" Turning to face Kate, Adam thought about how to word the many different thoughts and questions that were jumbled together in his brain.

"I was hoping I could talk to you about a dream I had earlier."

"Go on." She told him, leaning forward to hear him better.

"It was like the vision I had." He told her, leaning his head down so he was staring at the floor. "The one where I was in the hall with the three Atlanteans. But, it was from a different perspective. I was holding the stunner. Then I woke up, or so I thought. I went to splash some water on my face but after I did, the face in the mirror wasn't mine, it was Mirac's. Then I really woke up. That's when Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard came."

"To be honest, I don't know what to tell you. It could be his memories trying to integrate into yours. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful but this really isn't my area of expertise. But I am glad you came to talk to me." Kate said. "Is there anything else?" Nodding, Adam lifted his head.

"I was kind of hoping you could maybe explain the hypnotherapy to me a little better. Dr. Beckett tried his best but I'm still unsure of how it works."

"Of course," Kate began. "Simply put, we're gonna try to pull information from your subconscious mind. Which is what basically happens when you're asleep anyways. That's why, half the time, it's hard to remember dreams. All they are is just your mind attempting to sort through events of the day, or trying to plan out what needs to be done the next day."

Trying to comprehend the information, Adam just let it sink in before moving on.

"How exactly will you do it?"

"Well, Dr. Beckett will give you something to help you relax and will also monitor your vital signs. Then I'll talk you through it. It's really easy."

"Can you give me your honest opinion?" Adam asked, after hearing the other bit of information.

"I can try?" Kate asked, kind of surprised by the amount of concern and uncertainty in his voice.

"Do you think this will help find out what's wrong with me?"

"I don't know. I hope so." Kate told him, give him a smile for reassurance. "We can deal with this tomorrow. Right now, you need to rest."

"Dr. Beckett said the same thing." Adam told her with a small laugh.

"And he's right. So now you have two doctors whose orders you need to follow."

Nodding, Adam got up and headed for the door. Starting back towards his quarters he began to think about what Kate had just told him. Adam desperately wanted to be cured of whatever it was that was happening to him. But most of all, he needed to try and rest.

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Morning came more quickly than Adam had hoped. Despite the fact that he only got about an hours worth of sleep, Adam got up and took a hot shower before quickly dressing into a dark blue short sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans and heading towards the infirmary. When he arrived, he was kind of nervous when he saw that not only were Dr. Beckett and Dr. Heightmeyer were there, John, Elizabeth, and Teyla were also there. He knew, however, that they were there for support and to see what kind of information he would be able to tell them. Teyla was the first to notice his arrival in the infirmary.

"Sergeant. How are feeling?" She asked, everyone turning to face him as she did so.

"Fine." He replied. That was a lie. He was very tired, and very uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. Kate was the next to speak up.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He said, making his way over to the bed where everyone was gathered. After sitting down, Adam took off his shirt then situated himself so he was in a lying position. Next, Carson placed an IV in his left arm then proceeded to attach a few leads on Adam's temples and a few on his chest. Moving to his side, Kate sat down next to him on the bed, a small flashlight in her hand.

"If at anytime you want out, just say so and we'll administer a low-grade electrical shock." Kate told him. "Dr. Beckett will also be monitoring your brain activity throughout the process."

"Yes, ma'am." He told her after she basically explained why he was attached to so many different wires.

With a nod, Kate signaled Carson with the sedative. Inserting the syringe into tube connected to the IV, Carson emptied its contents into Adam's bloodstream.

"Dr. Beckett is giving you a mild sedative to help you relax. Now I want you to take a deep breath and focus on the light, letting your mind go blank." Clicking the light on, Kate shone the light into Adam's face. Clicking it off, Kate continued. "Now close your eyes and concentrate. Think back to your dream. You told me it was like your vision."

"Yes." He told her, the sedative clearly taking effect.

"Tell me what you see."

"The three Atlanteans. They're standing in the hall talking about Mirac escaping." Watching him carefully, John, Elizabeth, Teyla and Carson were taking in what Adam was seeing. Turning his head slightly to the side, Adam continued. "I'm moving closer to them. I… I also have something in my hands." Adam began to breathe heavily as soon as he realized what it was. "It's a stunner. I can fell myself activating it."

"Okay. Adam, focus on what happens after the Atlanteans have been stunned." Kate told him, not wanting Adam to become too distracted.

"I'm walking over to them, staring at them. Now I'm going down the hall. There's also a beeping sound coming from a small device. I think it's some sort of communicator."

"Can you tell us about the communication?" Kate asked, helping Adam keep his focus.

"It's…" Adam's voice trailed off as his head suddenly fell to the side. Moment's later, Adam's body was rocked by mild jerks.

"Carson!" Elizabeth cried out. Instantly Carson was by Adam's side checking to see what had happened. Carson's attempt to check Adam's pupils proved to be impossible because of the movement and the fact that his eyes were rolled back in his head.

"He's having a seizure!" Carson said, reaching for another syringe that he had placed with the other equipment he had. During all the excitement, no one noticed the change of the pattern on the monitor displaying Adam's brainwaves. Before Carson had the chance to uncap the other syringe, Adam's body stopped moving. Suddenly his eyes opened and began staring around the room and at the people around him.

"Stackhouse?" John asked, worried about his officer, just like everyone else was.

"Not exactly." Despite the fact that it was Stackhouse's voice, it wasn't Stackhouse. Chills began to crawl down John's spine as he stepped in front of Elizabeth, closer to the bed. "I have to admit, it's good to see my old home again. Sadly, it will not be around much longer." Trying to make sense of what 'Stackhouse' was saying, Elizabeth thought she should try to get some answers.

"Who are you?" She asked?

"You already know the answer to that. Doctor Weir."

"Let me guess, Mirac?" John guessed.

"Correct, Colonel Sheppard." 'Mirac' said, maneuvering into a sitting position on the bed.

"You know who we are?"

"Of course." He told John.

"So why are you doing this?" John asked, inching closer to the bed. Staring into Stackhouse's eyes, John could see his answer before he even said it.

"Easy. For revenge." No sooner had he confirmed John's suspicions, Mirac hit John with enough force that it knocked him back and to the floor. Taken by surprise, everyone in the room acted on instinct and backed away. Taking advantage of this, Mirac pulled out the IV, then grabbed all the wires connected to him and jerked them off. Jumping off the bed, Mirac made his way to the door or the infirmary.

Recovering from the hit, John pulled himself off the floor and tackled Mirac before he could leave. While Elizabeth and Kate kept their distance, Teyla rushed over to John in hopes to help him. Behind Elizabeth, Carson rummaged through the mess that had been made; searching for the syringe he was reaching for earlier. Finding it, he immediately uncapped it and tried to find the right moment to use it. Managing to wrestle John off of him, Mirac once again turned to the door but this time was stopped by Teyla.

"It would be a shame for me to kill you. Step aside."

"No." Was all that Teyla told him. Noticing that Carson had the syringe, she intended to keep Mirac in place. However, that plan wasn't so easily executed.

"Very well." He told her. Immediately, he advanced towards Teyla, but did not count on her superior fighting skills. As Mirac struck, Teyla grabbed his arms and twisted them behind his back. Using her leg, she then hit Mirac behind his left knee, forcing him to the floor. While Teyla had him at bay, Carson used the moment to his advantage. Rushing over, Carson jabbed the needle into Stackhouse's neck and quickly pressed the plunger. Within seconds, the liquid began to take effect. Stackhouse went limp in Teyla's arms as she released he grip on him. As Carson grabbed Adam under his arms, Teyla grabbed his feet and they carried him to the nearest bed. After they had placed Adam on the bed, Elizabeth turned her attention immediately to Sheppard.

"John!" She cried as she rushed to help him up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I've had worse days." He said regaining his composure. Grabbing a cloth, he began wiping the blood that flowed from his nose as he turned his attention to Carson. "It's a good thing you had that extra sedative near by, doc."

"The only problem, Colonel," Carson began, looking up to John, "it wasn't a sedative. It was a stimulant." Turning his attention back to Adam, Carson reattached the EEG monitor. After Elizabeth had tended to John, everyone gathered at a safe distance and stared at Adam's unconscious body as he lie on the bed.

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Okay, just to clarify: the dream thing, it was a dream in a dream. And the whole talk with Adam and Kate about how the hypnotherapy works, I know it's probably not true but hey, work with me. Also, sorry that the whole fighting scene is short, sappy and not really all that great. Once again, sorry it took so long. FYI, I don't have internet at home so it's kind of hard for me to update as much a I would like too, but hopefully I'll have the next chapter up sooner than I got this one up. Again please review and let me know how bad I'm doing. Later.


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